Agencies combine power for second sweep in Fallbrook ; Twenty-eight arrests made; additional 22 cited and released

For the second time in a little over three months, officers from multiple agencies combined strength to power a special law enforcement operation in Fallbrook on Saturday, July 19. This sweep, conducted by a team of 60 officers, resulted in 28 arrests and an additional 22 individuals cited and released.

“This was extremely effective in getting some people off the street that needed to be off the streets,” Sheriff’s Lt. Alex Dominguez said. “There were also many, many field interviews conducted with gang members.”

Nine of the 28 arrests made resulted in formal deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and holds were placed on a few other arrestees by the same agency.

Arrests included those for felony warrants, a wide variety of drug charges, suspicion of burglary and one military deserter. Two juveniles were arrested for violation of probation and drug possession. Three arrests were made for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Officers wrote citations to, but did not jail, 22 individuals for reasons such as traffic violations, unlicensed drivers, driving on suspended licenses and use of marijuana.

The operation, funded by the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant program, was organized by Sgt. Theresa Adams-Hydar and her team of detectives at the Fallbrook Sheriff’s Substation, with the assistance of professional staff and members of the Senior Volunteer Patrol.

“I’m very thankful to all of the participating agencies and everyone who helped put this together,” said Dominguez. “Everything went very smoothly.” With a multitude of police officers swarming the community, activity on the streets slowed significantly.

“I can tell you that after that we had a pretty quiet weekend,” Dominguez said.

The lieutenant said some of the arrests were made at targeted locations, some of which contained known gang members with outstanding warrants.

The operation also included follow-up on gang members who have moved here after gang injunctions were levied in Oceanside, Vista and San Marcos, he said.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s Vista station (under which the Fallbrook Substation operates) was awarded a grant in the amount of $983,723 from the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance, Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program. A portion of this grant money is being used to conduct operations in the Fallbrook area.

“Byrne” grants are designed to target and reduce violent crime and gang violence in North San Diego County. It provides for enhanced communication between agencies and allows for a multi-jurisdictional partnership. The first operation conducted in Fallbrook as a result of the grant took place on April 11.

“We just want to let everyone know that we will continue these zero-tolerance gang enforcement details into the future,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Alex Dominguez. “We’ve already secured federal grants to continue these operations into 2009.”

Agencies participating in the July 19 Fallbrook operation included the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney’s Office, Child Protective Services, California Highway Patrol, San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), Probation Dept., Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Carlsbad, Escondido and Oceanside Police Departments.